Big job losses are being reported in the finance industry in Australia.
Foreign investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, are starting to cut dozens of jobs in response to the global downturn.
Also on the line are reductions of 30% - 40% in annual bonuses. In some cases, bonuses are being cut altogether.
And Radio New Zealand's Sydney correspondent reports that retail banks are also cutting jobs.
Westpac has just fired 28 senior technology executives, while the ANZ has scrapped 130 positions in its commercial and retail divisions.
Analysts at UBS say as many as 7000 jobs could be lost in the big four Australian banks over the next two years.
